NIGHTWISH has completed mixing and mastering its tenth studio album for a tentative late 2024 release.

Earlier today, the NIGHTWISH social media shared a photo of the band's keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen along with sound engineer Tero Kinnunen, mixing engineer Mikko Karmila and mastering engineer Mika Jussila, and it included the following message: "Our 10th album is now mixed and mastered. Thank you Tero, Mikko & Mika for more than 25 years of shared adventures, music & friendship. We made it again!"

Last month, NIGHTWISH drummer Kai Hahto spoke about the band's upcoming follow-up to 2020's "Human. :II: Nature." album in an interview with Laureline Tilkin of Tuonela Magazine. He said: "At least it's not gonna be the same as 'Human. :II: Nature.', so… Probably, let's say that we go back to more heavy, heavier things on the new album, but also there's a lot of, again, new winds to blow, so to speak. So, different new elements. But, of course, it's still NIGHTWISH, but, of course, we brought back the big symphony orchestra again to the new upcoming tenth album. Yeah, it's gonna be exciting. And quite challenging music to play as well."

Asked if he is "in a way happy" that he doesn't have to play the new NIGHTWISH songs live right now, in light of the fact that the band is taking a break from touring for the foreseeable future, Kai said: "No, no, no. Totally opposite. I would love to go and play it live. But hopefully the time will come when we go back, charging the batteries first. Of course, it's nice to be home with the kids and wife and dogs, but still, of course, I've always been a player, so I also like to play for the people. But I believe I'm not gonna be bored. So I have a lot of things in the back of my head. Even NIGHTWISH is now taking a break. So, I'm not gonna be bored."

Earlier in January, Hahto told Chaoszine that "it looks like" NIGHTWISH won't play any shows in the next two or three years.

In April 2023, NIGHTWISH surprised fans by announcing that the band was not going to be playing any live shows for the foreseeable future and would be not be touring in support of the group's next studio album.

NIGHTWISH's statement read as follows: "As the 'Human :ll: Nature - World Tour' is drawing to a close, we feel now is the time to tell you of our plans for the next phase in our journey.

"After the planned shows for June 2023 we will be 'hanging up our spurs' for an indeterminate time, as far as live concert performances go, and won't be touring the next album.

"The reasons for this decision are personal, but, we all agree, vital to the wellbeing and future of the band. Be assured that we still love working together, and this decision has nothing to do with Floor's pregnancy or our other individual projects.

"However, an album of 12 new songs will see bright daylight in 2024, as will 3 music videos! The band is positively hyped beyond words over this new upcoming musical adventure."

In December 2022, Holopainen said NIGHTWISH's upcoming follow-up to "Human. :II: Nature." will be the third part of a trilogy that began with 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" album. He told Metal Hammer: "I immediately knew after getting that album ['Endless Forms Most Beautiful'] done that, 'Okay, we have to do more songs about this, because there's so much more to explore and tell the world. We're not done with this.' And the same thing happened after 'Human. :II: Nature.'; we're still not done. So let's do one more. At least one more.

"In a way, [the next album] is the third part of a trilogy, which started with 'Endless Forms…' and then 'Human. :II: Nature.' There are some major surprises there again, but it feels like a natural continuation to 'Human. :II: Nature.'"

According to Tuomas, NIGHTWISH's next LP will cover previously uncharted ground while continuing in the more cinematic style that has characterized some of the band's recent efforts.

In September 2022, Tuomas was asked if NIGHTWISH's upcoming LP will once again be an exploration of evolutionary science, as was the case with the previous two releases. Tuomas said: "Yes and no. It sails on the same waters, but there's some new surprises there as well."

In August 2022, Tuomas told Rock Sverige that he spent "about a year" working on the music and lyrics for the next NIGHTWISH album.

Asked if he got any kind of inspiration from the pandemic, Tuomas said: "Yeah, lyrically there's a couple of things that reflects the pandemic, but not in the way you would expect."

"Human. :II: Nature." was released in April 2020. The follow-up to 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" was a double album containing nine tracks on the main CD and one long track, divided into eight chapters, on CD 2.

In August 2022, NIGHTWISH announced the addition of Jukka Koskinen (WINTERSUN) as an official member of the band. Koskinen, who made his live debut with NIGHTWISH in May 2021 at the band's two interactive experiences, had spent the previous year touring with NIGHTWISH as a session musician.

In November 2022, singer Floor Jansen revealed that she was "cancer free" after recently undergoing surgery to have a tumor removed following a breast cancer diagnosis.

This past October, Floor and SABATON drummer Hannes Van Dahl welcomed their second child, a daughter named Lucy. Jansen and Van Dahl already have a six-year-old daughter named Freja, who was born on March 15, 2017.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nightwish (@nightwish)

British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST have released the official music video for "The Serpent And The King", the fourth single from their upcoming studio album, "Invincible Shield". You can check it out below.

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford told Zane Lowe of Apple Music 1 about "The Serpent And The King": "JUDAS PRIEST screaming heavy metal for over 50 years. The passion and the power and the love and the dedication and all the other glorious words that you can utilize into this band, JUDAS PRIEST, are just roaring in this song, 'The Serpent And The King'. It's just another definition of this particular style of metal, this intense, relentless, unyielding, invincible approach and love that we have in this band for this particular song. And we've talked about a lot of things. We've talked about the sinner, we've talked about the saints, and we've talked about the painkiller but we've never talked about God and the devil getting into the universal boxing ring, so to speak. That's the message. We're talking about this age-old thing that's been going on since the universe began. It's God, it's the devil. It's black and white, it's positive, negative, it's good, it's evil, it's love, it's hate. It's all of these different textures wrapped up into this fierce non-stop, relentless track, 'The Serpent And The King'."

Regarding how the themes in "The Serpent And The King" are reflective of the current time, Halford said: "This 'Serpent And The King' issue couldn't be more relevant right now, man. I don't have to talk about current topics on the news wire. But yeah, this is it. This is raging right now, this fight that's going on. The good news is the battle always ends in the right place, which is, good overcomes evil. Love always wins. Love will always come out on top. No matter how dark, how bleak, how terrible things might be, love will come out, the light will shine, the power will reign, and humanity progresses. This is the context of all of the imagery and fantasy of 'The Serpent And The King'."

"Invincible Shield" will arrive on March 8, 2024 via Sony Music.

The official music videos for the LP's first two singles, "Panic Attack" and "Trial By Fire", can also be seen below.

The cover artwork for the CD and vinyl versions of "Invincible Shield" can be found below.

To pre-order "Invincible Shield", visit shop.judaspriest.com.

"Invincible Shield" track listing:

01. Panic Attack
02. The Serpent And The King
03. Invincible Shield
04. Devil In Disguise
05. Gates Of Hell
06. Crown Of Horns
07. As God Is My Witness
08. Trial By Fire
09. Escape From Reality
10. Sons Of Thunder
11. Giants In The Sky

Deluxe edition bonus tracks:

12. Fight Of Your Life
13. Vicious Circle
14. The Lodger

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner spoke about "Invincible Shield". Asked about his previous comment that the follow-up to 2018's "Firepower" would be "a little bit more progressive", he clarified: "I think 'progressive' means different things to different people, so it's not super, super complex DREAM THEATER magic, but I think it's complex and progressive in the way that there's some twists and turns and it doesn't really follow any scripts if it doesn't have to. There's two solos in [the LP's first single, 'Panic Attack']. There's a part in it that's 7/8 time [signature]. There's two kind of bridges. So it just goes out of the box a little bit, without being unaccessible, that's what I mean. So I think compared with 'Firepower', it's a little bit more progressive, a few more twists and turns along the journey of the song."

Asked what the inspiration was to make the music a bit more progressive this time around, Richie said: "That was the stuff we were coming up with. When I come up with music, it's usually the riffs first. I sit down with the guitar and the guitar kind of pulls it out of me, really, wherever it comes from. And it just so happened that some of those parts were a bit more unorthodox, time-changey stuff or different time signatures. And the record takes on its own character by itself. As you write a record, you might have an idea of where you wanna go, but the record takes on its own flavor by itself, and you go with that — you recognize where it's going and go with that. So, that's what we were coming up with, and sort of went with that mindset, really."

Regarding his own personal contributions to the songwriting process on "Invincible Shield", Faulkner said: "Well, it's a fairly shared thing. I'm not a lyricist, and obviously Rob is, for example. Me and Glenn [Tipton, PRIEST guitarist] write a lot of the guitar parts and musical parts and Rob writes a lot of the vocals and vocal melodies. And Rob's got a great sense of phrasing as well. He might come in one day with an idea for a song and it's got some melody and it's got some timing and you can attach yourself to that timing and come out with a riff. So it's kind of — we get in a room, like me and you put a band together, and 'what have you got?' and 'what have I got?' and we put them together and come up with new songs. And it's fairly organic like that."

Richie also addressed the fact that the main "Invincible Shield" album contains 11 songs, with three additional tracks being made available on various versions of the album. He said: "We wanted to keep it around 10, 11 tracks on the main record. But the bonus tracks, we didn't wanna put them on the shelf never to see the light of day. We wanted to get them out. We wanted people to hear those as well without being part of the standard release. So we released everything we had in different formats."

Faulkner then elaborated on the musical direction of "Invincible Shield", saying: "It's a pretty intense record. There's no real moment where there's a ballad or something like that. It stays up there.

"When you release a record, it's exciting," he explained. "It's also scary at the same time, 'cause is it gonna be well received or not? You never quite know when you let it out in the world. So it's an exciting time, for sure."

Last June, Faulkner told Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio about the musical direction of the new PRIEST material: "There are definitely a few more twists and turns on this record. There are a few more musical parts. So, there might be a bit of... As I said, there are twists and turns. I've used the word 'progressive' before, and the Internet ripped me a new asshole. But it is progressive in the sense that it's not like verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus-finish. It's musical part-verse-musical part. It might do a few twists and turns, musically. It veers from the path of it, a bit like 'Sinner' or 'Tyrant' or something like that. So, it's a bit more '70s PRIEST, which I ichie e as a guitar player… It's '70s PRIEST, but it's not a retro album, by any means. It's the influence of '70s PRIEST in the progressive sense, but it sounds like PRIEST in 2023."

He added: "Every PRIEST album has kind of stood on its own, stylistically. It's had that DNA of JUDAS PRIEST, because the characters are so strong. But it's always been a little bit different — retaining that DNA but having its own character. So, this one's no different, really, in the sense that it's obviously JUDAS PRIEST, but it's its own animal; it stands on its own two legs."

In November 2022, Faulkner told Robert Cavuoto of Metal Rules that some PRIEST fans misconstrued his previous comments about the musical direction of the band's upcoming LP. He said: "I think we've used the word 'progressive', and everyone thinks it's gonna become 'Nostradamus' [PRIEST's controversial 2008 symphonic heavy metal concept double album about Nostradamus], or RUSH, which is two different things. I've definitely used the word 'progressive' [to describe the new PRIEST material in previous interviews], purely because it's got a few musical turnarounds that 'Firepower' doesn't have. But that doesn't make it a RUSH record. It just makes it — instead of, like, a verse into a bridge into a chorus, there might be a couple of more musical passages in there to make it a bit more… interesting; might be the wrong word. I don't know. You've gotta be careful with the words you use these days. So it's not 'Firepower 2', but it's the same band a few years later, so there's obvious connections to the last record. But it's not 'Firepower 2' by any means."

Richie continued: "No PRIEST records have sounded the same, but it's got a common DNA. And you always try and make the next one sound a bit better — or whatever 'better' may be; 'better' is subjective. So, is it better written? Are the lyrics better? Does it sound better? And 'better' is always subjective. So it's hard to pinpoint, really. But it's a bit more of a musical adventure than the last one, I'd say. But then again someone might listen to it, when it does come out, and have a totally different interpretation of what it is. So it's always tough to sum up your own music without sounding up your own butt."

In February 2022, Halford was asked by Remy Maxwell of Audacy Check In if he agreed with Faulkner's comment that the band's upcoming album would be more musically "progressive" than "Firepower". He responded: "Yeah, the metal is there. But here's the thing: we've tried our best not to replicate anything that we've done. From 'Rocka Rolla' all the way through to 'Firepower', each record has had a distinctive character. And it's tough because fans go, 'We want another 'Painkiller',' 'We want another 'British Steel'.' And [it's, like], 'Dude, we've already done that.'

"Fans know that we're a band that is always full of adventure and trying new stuff," he continued. "And so, yeah, this has got probably some more progressive elements that we've never really delved into before. And that's exciting, because, again, it gives us and our fans another opportunity to see a different side of PRIEST. But it's still metal. There's just more of it. There are more notes than there were before."

Also in February 2022, Faulkner told Canada's The Metal Voice about the overall sound of the new PRIEST music: "Whenever you start a record, you never know how it's gonna turn out. So you might start with an idea of what it's gonna be, and as it kind of rolls on, it comes out something different. So you don't quite know. And also it's really hard to sum up your own music, I find, without sounding really pretentious. But I think this one — it's not 'Firepower 2', I don't think. It's its own thing, it's its own animal. If anything, I would say it's a bit more progressive in places, and in places it's got a bit more of that 'Killing Machine' swagger."

Faulkner added: "I know everyone says, 'Oh, is it the next 'Painkiller'?' or 'Is it the next…?' whatever… I don't know if they'd ever done it, but I know we've never done it when I've been in the band; we've never tried to recreate an album. It's always we try to create an album that stands on its own legs. So I think it's definitely a little bit more progressive than 'Firepower' and, as I said, in places it's got a little bit of that 'Killing Machine' angry swagger attitude going on."

Bassist Ian Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Halford joined the group in 1973 and Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then came back to PRIEST in 2003. Original guitarist K.K. Downing parted ways with the band in 2011, and was replaced by Faulkner.

Photo credit: James Hodges

CD cover:

Vinyl cover:

Emperor legend, Ihsahn, recently released his new eponymous full-length studio offering via Candlelight Records. In a new interview with Metal Hammer, Ihsahn reflects on black metal's place in rock 'n' roll history - and if there's anything that the next generation could do that would shock those in the 90s black metal scene.


“I have been wondering," Ihsahn muses. "I hope my kids don’t have to be part of it but what’s the next shocking thing? There was something every decade since Elvis and his hips. People said it can’t get any worse than punk. But since black metal, what’s the next dangerous thing?”


Elsewhere in the interview, he also discusses the importance corpsepaint played in making black metal so distinct. Read more at Metal Hammer.




Daring to push the realms of creative expressionism even further with his eighth studio offering, Ihsahn's latest release comprises two melodically interlinked versions of the same album: one prog metal, one fully symphonic, both creating a cinematically influenced masterpiece.


Whilst his musical journey has been frequently revelatory, the masterful control of rhythm and movement displayed throughout 'Ihsahn' shows his work as a songwriter and composer at its most focused and self-assured. A gargantuan endeavour and one that Ihsahn professes to be one of the most complex projects he has ever undertaken, is a labyrinthine rabbit-hole of his own design, the scale of ambition immediately apparent. Wholly self-produced and scored over the course of three years, the metal version has been mixed by Jens Bogren, the orchestral version mixed by Joel Dollié and both versions were mastered by Tony Lindgren. Ihsahn freely admits that the process pushed him to his limits. It began, simply, with a piano.


Comments Ihsahn, “On average, I've been releasing a full-length album every second year since I was 16. And, you know, that has given me some opportunity to explore different options, so for my eighth full-length solo record, I thought, ‘okay, how can I do what I do best, but also raise the bar tenfold? At the heart of what I do is black metal, extreme distorted guitars and screaming, but since the earliest Emperor recordings you’ll hear the keyboard parts influenced by classic soundtracks by the likes of Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Bernard Herrmann, John Carpenter and so on. So, I approached the writing with the intent to present the material in its full-blown metal expression, but also to arrange the orchestral parts in such a way that they would work independently. Somehow an attempt to write a soundtrack within the structures of the full production, allowing me to explore different, and sometimes contrasting, variations of essentially the same music. In the end I wrote all the music as a piano short-score and arranged it for a typical band ensemble and orchestra, accordingly, making sure everything interlocked.”


It’s that compositional core that allowed Ihsahn to build the two records from the ground up – a Herculean feat for the self-professed, self-taught musician, but it is perhaps that very absence of formal training that allowed him to throw out the rulebook and simply follow his instincts, and the time afforded by the pandemic created the natural gap required to so heavily invest himself in the project. As Ihsahn explains, that self-induced pressure came from a desire to keep his loyal fanbase and himself interested, which is not only the defining feature of his latest record, but it’s also the central characteristic of his entire solo career.


Order the new album here.





Tracklisting:


"Cervus Venator"
"The Promethean Spark"
"Pilgrimage To Oblivion"
"Twice Born"
"A Taste Of The Ambrosia"
"Anima Extraneae"
"Blood Trails To Love"
"Hubris And Blue Devils"
"The Distance Between Us"
"At The Heart Of All Things Broken"
"Sonata Profana"


"The Distance Between Us" video:





"The Distance Between Us" (Orchestral):





"Twice Born" video:





"Twice Born" (Orchestral):





"Pilgrimage To Oblivion" video:





"Pilgrimage To Oblivion" (Orchestral):





And from the orchestral grandiosity of opening track "Cervus Venator" - whichever side of 'Ihsahn' you choose to sit down with first - the epic, soundtrack qualities and richly hewn textures of Ihsahn are immediately apparent. It is a masterwork by any standard, and the definitive expression of Ihsahn’s boundless capabilities as an artist. It’s a journey he’s eager for his dedicated fans to connect with.


Joining Ihsahn on this album are Tobias Ørnes Andersen and Tobias Solbakk on drums and percussion, with IHSAHN's son Angell Solberg Tveitan adding additional percussion and violins by Chris Baum. Artwork for the album was created by Ritxi Ostariz, with all promotional photography by Andy Ford.


Not satisfied to only create a dual-record, there is also a conceptual story which underpins both sides of 'Ihsahn' – a pair of separate but interwoven Wagnerian narratives revolving around the traditional hero’s journey, and while IHSAHN is reticent to tell all, he is confident that meaning will soon emerge for listeners willing to show equal commitment.  


"I've been honoured to work with some astounding visual artists on this, who were all given access to my scrapbooks, music, lyrics, stories, mood boards etc. It’s been amazing to see how they've all interpreted the material differently, but still in a way that binds everything together.


“It’s a privilege that I get to make music and travel the world to play my music. And when I say this is subjectively my greatest musical achievement so far, it has nothing to do with ego or prestige, but rather to do with gratitude for the experience. Art taps into the metaphysical and the archetypes of our existence- it lets us experience loss, death, love - it prepares us for all of those things in some way. That’s the value, that’s the perspective I wish to create from.”


(Photo - Andy Ford)

In a new interview with Chuck Armstrong of Loudwire Nights, Zakk Wylde was asked about his involvement with the reformed PANTERA, in which he is joined by the band's surviving members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass),alongside ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante. The guitarist said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Everybody in the whole camp, it's all great people. And it's crazy, because we've known each other for years, but you end up knowing, even with the crew and everything like that, all these people you've known for years — I mean, people that I've been with when I started with Ozzy [Osbourne] and everything like that. So, it's just a great time out there, man, for sure. And then, obviously, celebrating [late PANTERA members] Vinnie [Paul Abbott] and Dime ['Dimebag' Darrell Abbott] every night, it's just awesome.

"The beautiful thing about music is, all the bands that we love, whether it's [LED] ZEPPELIN or [BLACK] SABBATH, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS or Elton John or PANTERA or whatever, everybody has their connection to that music," he continued. "That's the most powerful thing about music. I mean, you hear stuff, it just transports you back to when you were 13 years old, 14 years old, where you were and what you were doing when that music was going on. So, for so many people — it's amazing 'cause Phil always does it at like almost every night, he's just, like, 'How many people saw PANTERA back in the day?' And everybody, obviously, you have all the PANTERA faithful. And then he goes, 'How many people, this is their first time seeing PANTERA?' It's mind-blowing. I mean, I'd say it's almost like 60-40, 70-30 sometimes, where it's, like, 'Wow. That is amazing.'

"I never got a chance to see ZEPPELIN back in the day, so to see… When I went and saw the [Jimmy] Page and [Robert] Plant thing with the orchestra and everything, that was just amazing, because I never got a chance to see them back in the day. So, just the power of the music, to see it live was just… I saw 'em at Brendan Byrne Arena [in East Rutherford, New Jersey in April 1995] when we were working on [Ozzy Osbourne's 1995 album] 'Ozzmosis'. I got tickets and we went down to the gig that night, and it was amazing — 'cause I never I never got a chance to see it back in the day. So, it's pretty much the same, 'cause I know I was getting chills when I was watching it. So, yeah, it's a beautiful thing, man."

Zakk was also asked if he would be open to working on new material with PANTERA. He said: "Nah, I don't think so. Whenever Phil says that and all the younger kids are screaming and yelling, when they put the house lights on and everyone's got their fists up in the air 'cause that's the first time [they're seeing PANTERA live], I just look at like Vinnie and Dime, if they were on the side of the stage, and go, 'See what you guys created.' So it's just, like, yeah, it's awesome. It truly is, man. But, no, I don't think [the plan is] to record [as PANTERA]. I mean, it'd be like if [Eric] Clapton was playing with [drummer] Mitch [Mitchell] and [bassist] Noel [Redding], honoring Jimi [Hendrix], they're not gonna go in and record [and call it] THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE with Eric Clapton. [Laughs] I don't think anything like that. Obviously, if we were ever to do anything, it would be under a different name. Like Jimmy Page, if he was playing with Paul Rodgers and everything, it's THE FIRM; they're not going out as LED ZEPPELIN."

Back in January 2023, longtime PANTERA producer Sterling Winfield, who is reportedly one of the people who control PANTERA drummer Vincent "Vinnie Paul" Abbott's estate, told Reckless Rock Radio 89.3 KNON FM about the possibility of the reformed PANTERA recording new music: "It's not unheard of, it's not blasphemous. I will say that it is entirely plausible, it is entirely possible, but at this point in time, I don't know that anybody's looking that far down the road. They've got a world tour to tackle, man, for the next two years, and they are gonna be busy doing that. Now, could it happen? Yes."

Asked if he "would be cool" with Brown, Anselmo, Wylde and Benante making new music together, Sterling said: "It depends, man. Again, it has to be done right, like this whole thing; the whole tour that's happening has to be done properly. And I don't really feel comfortable — if it were to happen, I would not feel comfortable calling it PANTERA. I don't think that would be classy. I'll put it that way. And I'll just leave it at that for now. [But] this lineup could make some very badass music. And the music is all that matters."

Back in 2016, Vinnie Paul said that he would eventually release music that was planned for DAMAGEPLAN's second album.

The drummer formed DAMAGEPLAN with his brother "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott after PANTERA's split in 2003 and released the debut DAMAGEPLAN album, "New Found Power", a year later.

Vinnie Paul told "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk": "The first [DAMAGEPLAN] record, I think, was pretty diverse. We wanted to do something that didn't sound exactly like PANTERA, and with [the material that was written for] the second record, it was really focused, man. I've got the demos and someday they'll come out. But I really feel like we had turned a corner. We'd been out, the fans had seen us, and they'd accepted the fact that this was our new thing at this point."

The reformed PANTERA is headlining a number of major festivals across North America, South America and Europe and staging some of its own headline concerts. They are also supporting METALLICA on a massive stadium tour in 2024.

It was first reported in July 2022 that Anselmo and Brown would unite with Wylde and Benante for a world tour under the PANTERA banner.

According to Billboard, the lineup has been given a green light by the estates of Vinnie Paul and Dimebag, as well as Brown, who in 2021 said Wylde wouldn't tour with PANTERA if a reunion were to happen. It's unclear what changed his mind.

Anselmo and Brown spoke about PANTERA's return to the stage during an appearance on the seventeenth episode of "The Metallica Report", the recently launched podcast offering weekly insider updates on all things METALLICA. Philip said: "It's empowering. It is incredibly beautiful, and you feel so much love when you're up there. And if you take it in, it's a great feeling, man. These days, man, that's where me and Rex, you know, we get to dig the shows more."

He continued: "When we were younger, we were at war and when we were on stage; we were just angry and at war, man. Now it's — the songs are there. I can concentrate on singing the fricking songs, number one. Geez, that's a relief for me, man. I don't have to break my fricking body in part anymore."

Anselmo and Brown also talked about Charlie and Zakk being part of the PANTERA team. Philip said: "Them two dudes, so enthusiastic. And they got their damn thing and they got their own damn legacy, both of them, without us. It's an honor to play with them. They're the nicest frickin guys in the world, man. I'm just so... [Laughs] Zakk, he's a crack-up, man. He's a sweetheart. And fricking Charlie, we've known Charlie since '87, man. It's a long time."

Rex chimed in: "The way [Charlie] plays Vinnie's parts is uncanny. I don't think there's any drummer out there that could play the way that Vinnie did. I would close my eyes, because I was trying to get tight, and sometimes if I close my eyes, I can hear a little better; I think I can. And there'd be a tear of joy just coming down, because that was so close to what Vinnie and I used to play. So you have the foundation."

Philip concurred, saying: "The low end sounds so PANTERA, man. It's freaking me out."

When the interviewer suggested that PANTERA in 2023 had Vinnie Paul and Dimebag's "spirit inside it", Philip said: "Only thing I can say is, man, I know for a damn fact Vince and Dime would want us to do this, hands down. They would want the PANTERA brand or the legacy to go on. And I don't know what you believe in, but sometimes, you know, you would like to think that them old fellas are looking down on us, giving us the thumbs-up."

While he was alive, Vinnie Paul had repeatedly dismissed talks of a PANTERA reunion, telling Germany's EMP Rock Invasion in 2014: "People are selfish, man. They want what they want; they don't care what you want. And it's unfortunate that people go, 'Oh, wow, man, they can get Zakk Wylde to jump up there on stage and it's PANTERA again.' No, it's not, you know. It's not that simple. If Eddie Van Halen was to get shot in the head four times next week, would everybody be going, 'Hey, man, Zakk, go play for VAN HALEN. Just call it VAN HALEN.' You see what I'm saying? I mean, it's really selfish for people to think that, and it's stupid. It's not right at all."

He continued: "They call it a reunion for a reason. It's called bringing the original members back to what it was. So there's a lot of these things that they call reunions that aren't really reunions. They've got one dude from the band floating around in them, you know. That's not a true reunion. With PANTERA, it'll never be possible."

He repeated those same sentiments a few months later, telling PlanetMosh in a separate interview: "Without Dimebag Darrell, there is no [PANTERA] reunion. And that's all there is to it. We were a very influential band, and we touched millions and millions of people with that band, but it's over. People really have to come to grips with that, and that's all there is to it. If all of us were still here, then the possibility would truly be there, but since it's not, you know… It's selfish of the fans to want something that they can't have. And they don't ever understand that, and I get it. There's things I want in this world too. You know, people in fucking hell want ice water, but they're not gonna get it."

Up until his passing in June 2018, Vinnie remained on non-speaking terms with Anselmo, whom the drummer indirectly blamed for Dimebag's death.

Vinnie Paul and Dimebag co-founded PANTERA. On December 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by a troubled schizophrenic who believed that the members of PANTERA were stealing his thoughts.

Dimebag's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney in 2011 called on Vinnie and Philip to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag.

Vinnie, who was Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo had not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie suggested that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.

Haney told the producers of "Behind The Music Remastered: Pantera" that she forgave the singer after they found themselves unexpectedly face to face at a concert in California.

INFECTIOUS GROOVES, the long-running outfit formed more than three decades ago by now-METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo alongside Robert's then-SUICIDAL TENDENCIES bandmate Mike Muir, has entered the studio to record a new song. The track, which was co-written by former INFECTIOUS GROOVES guitarist Adam Siegel, will mark the band's first release with ex-SLIPKNOT drummer Jay Weinberg, who joined INFECTIOUS GROOVES in January.

On Monday (February 26),INFECTIOUS GROOVES shared a photo from the studio and included the following message: "So much fun and what a blaST! Lots of smiles and a killer new jam!

"Yesterday INFECTIOUS GROOVES was back in the studio, recording a new track and we can't wait for you to hear. We even got our old guitar player (and amazing artist) Adam Siegel out of 'retirement' to help write this jam (not pictured due to having to leave early)

"Huge thanks to Tim Armstrong for always welcoming us into his studio and Joey Castillo for letting us use his drums. And damn, Jay Weinberg beat and grooved the hell out of them! Was so much fun watching him do his thing, and start everything off with a blast.

"More updates soon. We can't wait to share more soon.
INFECTIOUS GROOVES is in the house! (And the studio!)"

INFECTIOUS GROOVES has scheduled two U.S. shows next month — March 23 and March 24 at the Garden Grove Amphitheater in Garden Grove, California — before embarking on a short tour of Australia in late March and early April.

Weinberg was recruited by INFECTIOUS GROOVES for the band's first live appearances since a one-off show in 2019 due to longtime drummer Brooks Wackerman's commitment to AVENGED SEVENFOLD.

In a new interview with Australia's Metal-Roos, Muir stated about how Weinberg came to join INFECTIOUS GROOVES: "We wanted to get somebody that you know could carry that torch and was there. It's funny 'cause we were kind of saying… well, I told Robert, 'You put a list [of drummers] together, I'll put a list together and then we'll kind of see who's touring and who's available and try to do it.' And my middle son, who's 14, was asking, he goes, 'If Brooks can't do it, who are you gonna get to play drums?' And I'm, like, 'We're not sure. We're putting a list together.' He goes, 'You're gonna ask Jay?' So my son, his two favorite drummers are Lars [Ulrich] and Jay Weinberg and stuff. And I was, like, I hadn't even thought of Jay. And I knew that he had surgery. And I looked [on his social media] and I go, 'It's January 1st.' And he goes [in a social media post], 'I'm walking for the first time [since surgery], and I'm like, 'Ooh.' And my son said, 'You should get Jay. I saw him. He's playing the drums again. You should get him. Talk to him.' And I go, 'I don't have his number.' He goes, 'You could get it. Robert's probably got it.'"

Muir continued: "The first tour that that Jay did in SLIPKNOT, SUICIDAL opened. I, obviously, have been around a lot of drummers, a lot of musicians, and I'd heard the drummer they got is really good. As I always say, I don't judge, I observe. And I was watching him play at soundcheck, going, 'Oh, dude, this guy's actually really good. He mixes it up really well. And he's really versatile.' And it always stuck out to me because, I go, 'He obviously kills it in SLIPKNOT,' but I go, 'He's actually a really versatile drummer and really good.' And it stuck out to me and stuff. So I knew that he could definitely do it, obviously. It's a matter of would he want to do it and then physically could. So I got his number and I texted him. And he goes, 'I'm at my physical therapist's right now. I'm not even supposed to be starting to play until the middle of April.' But he goes, 'I think I'm way ahead of my schedule.' And he goes, 'Let me get back to you. I'm gonna be there on Monday.' And it was the weekend… But he goes, 'Yeah, I think it's gonna be all right,' and this and that. So anyhow, we talked a lot and then were, like, 'Let's fly out and get together.' And when we practiced, I was going, 'You cannot tell that he's just had two major surgeries.' It's funny because my kids went to the practice and they were, like, 'Dude, Robert was smiling ear to ear the whole practice. He looked like a little kid just having a ball.' And it was just so much fun in a good way. Jay on drums, he's driving that sports car, and he's got a really good edge and he's able to actually showcase a lot more on the INFECTIOUS songs, which he was really appreciating. I think people, they're gonna trip. Because everybody knows Robert's great bass player; they know the bass lines in INFECTIOUS. Whether you know the music or not, you hear it, you're, like, 'Oh, dude, that bass player is insane,' especially for the time. But I think, when Jay's up there, they're gonna go, 'Wow, that's really powerful.' So we're super excited, as you can tell."

In addition to Weinberg, Muir and Trujillo, INFECTIOUS GROOVES' 2024 lineup includes guitarists Dean Pleasants (SUICIDAL TENDENCIES) and Dave Kushner (ex-VELVET REVOLVER).

INFECTIOUS GROOVES was formed soon after Trujillo joined SUICIDAL TENDENCIES in 1989. Muir and Trujillo got together with some friends to write song that centered more around the bass, but with the intent of giving everyone else a whole lot of freedom.

"SEX PISTOLS and PARLIAMENT were my two favorite bands when I was young," commented Muir. "People think they're completely different but I saw a lot of similarities, even if musically they were categorized as completely different styles. There's something beautiful about breaking rules that never should have been made."

INFECTIOUS GROOVES 2024 tour dates:

March 23 - Garden Grove, California @ Garden Grove Amphitheater
March 24 - Garden Grove, California @ Garden Grove Amphitheater
March 30 - Melbourne, Australia @ Forum
March 31 - Brisbane, Australia @ Fortitude Music Hall
April 01 - Byron Bay, Australia @ Bluesfest
April 04 - Adelaide, Australia @ Hindley Street Music Hall
April 05 - Sydney, Australia @ UNSW Roundhouse

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SUICIDAL TENDENCIES (@suicidaltendencies)

Henderson Brewing Co. have 50 hand-numbered bottles of a custom beer in honour of the bestselling memoir by Rush frontman, Geddy Lee.


Each bottle is filled with a custom strong stout (7%) and comes with a copy of My Effin’ Life. This unique item is strictly limited to 50 units and ships to Canadian addresses only (excl. Quebec).


Order here.







Have you ever tossed in bed at night, ruminating over the age-old debate of whether the Mona Lisa is smiling or not? Not anymore! Geddy Lee is certainly smiling and you will be too with Fantoons’ new Rush: Geddy Leesa Poster.


Printed on the quality lasal matte paper, with a smooth and vibrant color, their Geddy Leesa Poster measures a sizable 10x15 and will look stunning in your home, office, music room or local museum exhibit.


Shop now at hellomerch.com.





Fantoons says: “Prog rock fans of the Renaissance rejoice! (We know there’s millions of you.) You can finally add some fine Canadian art with a big splash of Rush to your home, office or music room with this glorious 10x15" poster of the fabled Geddy Leesa (the painting by Leonardo da Vinci wishes he painted.) This poster is printed on high-quality lasal matte paper, offering a smooth finish that makes colors and details truly pop. Frame not included. (Limited to 150).”


Following the Geddy Lee My Effin' Life book tour, Rush Backstage now has a dedicated page in the store for the Geddy Lee Tour Collection. The store currently has a small quantity of autographed items on offer. Go to this location to check it out.


"Thank you to everyone who has been posting about loving the book. It's been wild to see it on NY Times. Toronto Star and Globe & Mail bestseller lists for over 2 months!"





Geddy Lee's My Effin' Life memoir is available now via Harper Collins. Order here.


My Effin' Life description: The long-awaited memoir, generously illustrated with never-before-seen photos, from the iconic Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Rush bassist, and bestselling author of Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass.


Geddy Lee is one of rock and roll's most respected bassists. For nearly five decades, his playing and work as co-writer, vocalist and keyboardist has been an essential part of the success story of Canadian progressive rock trio Rush. Here for the first time is his account of life inside and outside the band.


Long before Rush accumulated more consecutive gold and platinum records than any rock band after the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, before the seven Grammy nominations or the countless electrifying live performances across the globe, Geddy Lee was Gershon Eliezer Weinrib, after his grandfather murdered in the Holocaust.


As he recounts the transformation, Lee looks back on his family, in particular his loving parents and their horrific experiences as teenagers during World War II.


He talks candidly about his childhood and the pursuit of music that led him to drop out of high school.


He tracks the history of Rush which, after early struggles, exploded into one of the most beloved bands of all time.


He shares intimate stories of his lifelong friendships with bandmates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart—deeply mourning Peart’s recent passing—and reveals his obsessions in music and beyond.


This rich brew of honesty, humor, and loss makes for a uniquely poignant memoir.

Germany's best kept progressive metal secret, Disillusion, will re-release their album, Back To Times Of Splendor, in a 20th Anniversary reissue edition via Metal Blade Records on April 26.


Remastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios, the album includes two bonus live tracks plus their 2002 EP, The Porter, which has never been released on vinyl before. The first single, "And The Mirror Cracked" (Remastered 20th Anniversary Edition) is available for streaming below.







Reissue formats:


Digipak CD
Digital Album
Gatefold 2LP:
- Black Vinyl
- Apricot Marbled (500x copies)
- Color in Color (200x copies)
- Maroon Marbled (300x copies - Band Exclusive)


Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"And The Mirror Cracked" (Remastered 20th Anniversary Edition)
"Fall" (Remastered 20th Anniversary Edition)
"Alone I Stand In Fires" (Remastered 20th Anniversary Edition)
"Back To Times Of Splendor" (Remastered 20th Anniversary Edition)
"A Day By The Lake" (Remastered 20th Anniversary Edition)
"The Sleep Of Restless Hours" (Remastered 20th Anniversary Edition)
"The Porter (2002)" * Bonus Track
"Eternal Duality (2002)" * Bonus Track
"And The Mirror Cracked" - Live 2023 * Bonus Track
"Alone I Stand In Fires" - Live 2023 * Bonus Track


"And The Mirror Cracked" (Remastered 20th Anniversary Edition):





Disillusion was founded in 1994 and with each subsequent independent release, the band progressed in many ways and morphed into something much more. By the time their debut album Back To Times Of Splendor was released through Metal Blade Records in 2004, Disillusion were not only touring throughout Germany but also internationally with the likes of Amon Amarth and Impious.


Singer, main composer and founding member Andy Schmidt comments: "20 years, crazy, I'm so grateful for the huge impact this record had on so many people, fans, musicians, music lovers. And of course we never expected this. Thank You to everybody who supported us through all the years! Time to celebrate together on tour in spring."


Disillusion's long rich history has had many highlights, most recently being their last two albums The Liberation and Ayam charting in Germany, but Back To Times Of Splendor was an album that defined them as a band. It was a concept album of pure progressive death metal but still showed a huge range of emotion. From touching, almost fragile moments to brutal rhythmic outbursts - Disillusion melted all genre boundaries together and made an epic masterpiece.


Disillusion will celebrate this milestone in 2024 by touring internationally, where they will perform Back To Times Of Splendor in its entirety. The first shows in Germany, Switzerland and Austria are on sale now with many more concerts and festivals to be announced soon.

Back from a nearly 15 year hiatus, Finnish melodic power metallers Winterborn pick up right where they left off, with their most powerful and strongest album to date. The band has lit a magical re-ignition that is sure to burn more than a few fires in the melodic power metal world. 


Guitarist Pasi Vapola: “I am very proud of the new music and I am sure that the fans will love it. They have been waiting patiently and we feel that we have delivered something very special for them.”


Check out the official video for "Winterborn" below.





  
Winterborn saw the light of day at the end of 2004 and much like so many other bands before them, started from the ashes of a covers-only band titled Mean Machine. That band transformed into Winterborn and with their original line-up the band released one album, Cold Reality via Massacre Records in November of 2006. The album brought critical acclaim and made enough noise to grab them a support slot on the European Tour with Doro through six countries and 22 shows. 
 
The accolades kept pouring in as Cold Reality was touted by the media as "An amazing piece of metal," "Best debut since Sonata Arctica’s Ecliptica," and "Impressive in all aspects." High marks for a debut album, for sure.  With that kind of attention, the band garnered some well-deserved attention in Europe and Japan, but, surprisingly, not in their native Finland. With the countries love for all things metal, it was there that the albums momentum fizzled out due to the lack of any type of powerful promotion. After the Euro tour and a handful of domestic gigs, the band decided to pivot off of the attention that they established outside of Finland and began recording their sophomore album in August of 2007. The recording of the album took a hit right out of the gate due to some unfortunate circumstances and an almost complete makeover of the band’s line-up.  The recording took a whopping seven months and almost a full year before it was ready for release. 
 
The band was hungrier than ever and the revamped Winterborn, with a fresh lineup, signed a recording deal with Japanese label Marquee/Avalon (Sonata Arctica, Iced Earth, H.E.A.T etc.) for their 2nd album. The album Farewell To Saints dropped in Japan in November 2008 and early 2009 in Europe via Massacre Records. The rest of 2009 and early 2010 saw the band embarking on another European Tour supporting Finland melodic metal hammers Sonata Arctica and Dutch upstarts Delain.
 
With many past successes to build from and the extended hiatus that kept the band hungry to play again, Winterborn has survived through the changes and are set to take over the music world. After hearing the new songs, the world is set to be the bands oyster. Open your ears, sit back and hear the magic of the return of Winterborn.





Tracklist:
 
"Another Sleepless Night"
"Satellite"
"On The Greatest Day"
"For The First Time Ever"
"Winterborn"
"Washed Away By Tide"
"Now Or Never"
"Into The Shades Of Gray"
"Moon From The Sky"
"Silver Dreams"
"Through Different Eyes"
 
Line-up:
 
Teemu Koskela - vocals
Pasi Vapola - guitar, backing vox
Antti Hokkala - guitar, backing vox
Jukka Hänninen - keys, backing vox
Pasi Kauppinen - bass, backing vox
Lauri Bexar - drums
 
Henrik Klingenberg – keys on the album

Def Leppard are sharing more footage from their 2022 Whisky A Go Go concert. The band recently brought the full set exclusively to their YouTube channel for 24 hours only. Although the full clip has now been removed, the band are rolling out individual videos from the show.


You can now watch Def Leppard perform "Foolin'" and "Rock Of Ages" in these just released videos:










Watch more footage from the concert below:
































Def Leppard and Journey are teaming up for the Summer Stadium Tour 2024 with Steve Miller Band, Heart, and Cheap Trick. The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame icons are once again coming together for a night of hits.


General tickets for all dates are on sale  here.





Tour dates:


July
6 - St. Louis, MO - Busch Stadium ^
10 - Orlando, FL - Camping World Stadium ^
13 - Atlanta, GA - Truist Park *
15 - Chicago, IL - Wrigley Field *
18 - Detroit, MI - Comerica Park *
20 - Nashville, TN - Nissan Stadium *
23 - Philadelphia, PA - Citizens Bank Park *
25 - Hershey, PA - Hersheypark Stadium *
27 - Pittsburgh, PA - PNC Park *
30 - Cleveland, OH - Progressive Field +


August
2 - Toronto, ON - Rogers Centre +
5 - Boston, MA - Fenway Park +
7 - Flushing, NY - Citi Field *
12 - Arlington, TX - Globe Life Field *
14 - Houston, TX - Minute Maid Park *
16 - San Antonio, TX - Alamodome *
19 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Field *
23 - Phoenix, AZ - Chase Field *
25 - Los Angeles, CA - SoFi Stadium *
28 - San Francisco, CA - Oracle Park *
30 - San Diego, CA - Petco Park *


September
4 - Seattle, WA - T-Mobile Park ^
8 - Denver, CO - Coors Field ^


* with Steve Miller Band
^ with Cheap Trick
+ with Heart

Today, Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM) is pleased to announce the addition of Finnish-Australian metal quartet, The Eternal, to its evergrowing and varied roster.


The group's distinctive sound is a fusion of dark, melancholic, and emotive metal with influences from both doom and progressive genres with the most recent incarnation of the band including Jan Rechberger (Amorphis) and Niclas Etelävuori (Flat Earth, ex-Amorphis) along with longtime members Mark Kelson and Richie Poate. The band recently wrapped up the recording of their upcoming album, Skinwalker, which is set for release in late June 2024.


Drummer/percussionist Jan Rechberger states, "I'm absolutely stoked to announce that The Eternal are joining the Reigning Phoenix Music family with our latest effort titled Skinwalker. A lot of dedication and hard work has been put into the making of this record, we are beyond excited to get this one out to the world."




Guitarist Richie Poate continues, "This record is the culmination of 2 years' work across 2 continents. The Eternal's line-up is the strongest it's been since the band's inception, and we're proud to be working closely with the custodians of some great heavy metal, in Reigning Phoenix Music. We hope you get as much pleasure out of listening to this new record as we had making it. Horns up!"


Niclas Etelävuori (bass) says, "I'm absolutely excited to share the news about our upcoming album Skinwalker. We have poured heart and soul into crafting this album and I couldn't be prouder of what we've created. This album is a testament to our collective passion for our music. The collaboration with Reigning Phoenix Music adds an extra layer of excitement to this release."


"We are extremely pleased to be joining the RPM family and its amazing roster of artists. We have worked very hard to get here and can't wait to share our first offering on the label. These are very exciting times with lots of great music ahead!," concludes vocalist/guitarist Mark Kelson.


The band's RPM A&R representative, Ute Linhart adds, "All of us at Reigning Phoenix Music are thrilled to welcome this creative Finnish-Australian powerhouse to our musical family. Not to mention that drummer Jan Rechberger convinded the group to pass on many other offers to continue to put his trust in our roster alongside his main gig with Amorphis."


The first digital single, "Death Like Silence", is just waiting to conquer the ears of metalheads worldwide. Launching on April 12, the track can be pre-saved here.





Originally forming in Melbourne, Australia, The Eternal emerged onto the music scene in early 2003 before evolving into a truly international collaboration, with half of the members being based in Melbourne, and the other half in Helsinki, Finland. Over their two-decade journey, the band have garnered international acclaim through the release of six studio albums. Their extensive touring has taken them across national and international landscapes, sharing stages with renowned acts such as Amorphis, Anathema, Him, Katatonia, Swallow The Sun, and Opeth among others.


The band's seventh studio album, Skinwalker, promises a continuation of their rich musical legacy and yet is set to be a defining moment creatively for the band. The album features several notable guest appearances including Tomi Joutsen (Amorphis), Santeri Kallio (Amorphis), Sami Yli-Sirniö (Kreator) and award-winning Tuvian throat singer Albert Kuvezin (Yat-Kha) to name a few.


The Eternal are:


Mark Kelson - vocals, guitars
Richie Poate - guitars
Niclas Etelävuori - bass
Jan Rechberger - drums, percussion


(Photo - AJ Savolainen)

John 5 and his band, The Creatures, released the single, "Strung Out", in early 2023. The Mötley Crüe guitarist recently stopped by the Guitar World studio to give a playthrough and lesson of the song. Watch the video below:





Mötley Crüe will perform at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand on Thursday, August 29. This show is a part of the 2024 Grandstand Concert Series sponsored by Sleep Number. Learn more and find ticket links here.




The band will bring their legendary live show to the Iowa State Fair for the first time ever in August. The Crüe will perform with special guest Pop Evil on Wednesday, August 14, at 8 PM. Tickets available at iowastatefair.org.


Mötley Crüe previously announced that they will kick off the 2024 North Dakota State Fair on Friday, July 19. Tickets are on sale in March.

Having just returned from the European leg of their Magno Interitus headline tour, there's no rest for the wicked for Danish deathcore maniacs Cabal. They’ve released a new rework of their song ''If I Hang, Let Me Swing", which saw the band partner with Danish industrial-techno collective John Cxnnor. The result of this energetic collaboration sees the light of the day today.


Listen to the song here, and watch a visualizer below.







Singer Andreas Bjulver states: "John Cxnnor are one of our favorite acts on the Danish scene, the way they manage to bridge the gap between electronic music and metal is truly impressive and since we've already collaborated with them on a bunch of tracks, having them do a complete rework of one seemed like a no brainer to us. We couldn't be happier with the result, this is electronic music at it's hardest and grittiest."





''If I Hang, Let Me Swing" (John Cxnnor Rework) was taken from the band's latest album Magno Interitus that was released on October 21 via Nuclear Blast. The album is available as Digipack [limited edition], Black Single LP, Crystal Clear with Gold + Black Splatter Single LP [limited to 500 units, Mailorder + Wholesale exclusive], Crystal Clear with Red + Black Splatter Single LP [limited to 500 units, USA exclusive], Gold + Black Marble Single LP [limited to 300 units, bandshop exclusives] and on all streaming platforms. Order here.


Cabal is:


Andreas Bjulver Paarup – Vocals
Christian Hammer Mattesen - Guitars
Chris Kreutzfeldt - Guitars
Lui Broch Larsen - Guitars
Dennis Hursid - Bass
Nikolaj Kaae Kirk - Drums


(Photo - Christoffer Rosenfeldt)

ESP Guitars has released the new video below, along with the following message:


"Nergal, the guitarist and frontman from Polish metal legends Behemoth, is here to talk about two of his most recent LTD Signature Series guitars, the HEX-6 and the more moderately priced version, the HEX-200. The HEX-6 offers a purely diabolical symmetrical V-shaped body, built with neck-thru-body construction at 25.5” scale, and features 24 extra-jumbo frets with a special 12th fret inlay from the band’s Opvs Contra Natvram album, a TonePros locking TOM bridge with string-thru-body, LTD locking tuners, and a set of direct-mount Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker active pickups. The HEX-200 offers bolt-on construction and a set of ESP LH-301 pickups."


Find HEX-6 info and specs here; find HEX-200 info and specs here.

Swedish melodic death metal band, Sailor Hunter, is set to release a new EP, Evolution, on May 24th 2024 via Finland's Inverse Records. The first official single "Ashes" is released today and the music video can be viewed below.


Vocalist Sebastian Fingal comments: "The song is about the triumph over adversity and the ability to rebuild after destruction and hardship. It was the first song that we did together with me as a new singer. The song has a lot of energy and I felt that the lyrics needed to be epic and empowering."


Listen to "Ashes" on streaming services here. 







Tracklist: 


"Ashes"
"Condemned By Creation"
"Against All Strife"
"Evolution"


 


 Photo by Mathias Coulouri

New Heaven, Inter Arma’s new album (out April 26), is a compelling testament to perseverance, top to bottom. Its thicket of ever-dense layers of doom, death, and black metal occasionally let bits of light slip in, fleeting reminders to keep going amid the tumult.  The record marks a sharp turn for Inter Arma, showcasing some of the most extreme and angular songwriting the band has ever laid bare. Known for their cinematic take on sludgy, extremely cavernous and borderline psychedelic metal, the Richmond band broadens their dynamics by seesawing between piledriving momentum and swirling oblivion. New Heaven crushes and conquers, and illustrates what Inter Arma can truly be.


Take the title track - which premieres today (listen below) - with its hair-raising lead riff stemming from drummer/songwriter TJ Childers’ challenge to himself to write a nonsensically dissonant part that he ended up loving. Meanwhile, vocalist Mike Paparo’s enraptured earsplitting bellows bludgeon above an impossibly complicated web of riffs and rhythms.  From the get go, New Heaven and the opening title track eschews any restraint; Inter Arma is completely unchained.


Though New Heaven is indeed another triumph for the band, it is not a triumphant album, meant to offer some glib or naïve assurance that everything will be fine.




They call it the 'Inter Arma Curse': for nearly two decades, the band has emerged as one of the most inspired and fearless acts in or around American metal.  They’ve also endured an endless parade of complications, hurdles, and slights: visa problems in Russia, stolen passports in Europe, unexpected member turmoil in their ranks, accidents and near death experiences, and a pervasive paradoxical sense that they have either been too metal or not metal enough. It’s been forever Sisyphean, except that Inter Arma has sporadically crested the hill to make a series of visionary albums.


As New Heaven started to take shape, the curse roared to life. Worldwide pandemic that squashed tours and writing sessions aside, Inter Arma churned through four bassists before finding salvation in Joel Moore, a guitar-and-engineering whiz who had never before played bass in a band.  With the addition of Moore, drummer T.J. Childers admits that New Heaven features some of the kind of music Inter Arma could have never executed. Listen for the uncanny keyboards wedged between Paparo and the band, for the ways Steven Russell and Trey Dalton coil and collide with Moore, for Childers’ way of slipping some Southern soul into what borders on truly brutal prog.  Paparo’s keen and empathetic lyrics explore arduous facets of the human experience, from innocent victims of war, to addiction, and social apathy.  New Heaven is a record about enduring brambles and curses and lasting long enough to make something profound, honest, and even affirming about it all every now and again..


Childers comments, "New Heaven is the culmination of four years worth of adversity ranging from near death experiences, multiple member changes and of course a global pandemic. It marks a new chapter for us musically as we feel we've taken our songwriting to places we've never explored before. We're excited to have come out of the madness relatively unscathed and feel as though we've created something completely unique that will stand apart in the sometimes homogenous extreme music community."  Guitarist Trey Dalton continues, "This record, maybe more than our previous efforts, more fully represents what we're trying to accomplish. It's still very much us - you know, music made by dudes coming from disparate musical backgrounds and perspectives, but with a more collective and defined sense of purpose. Clarity in direction, maybe. Your mileage may vary, but we like it a lot, and we hope you do too."


Pre-order New Heaven here (or direct from Relapse Records here) and look for more news from Inter Arma to surface in the near future.





New Heaven tracklisting:


"New Heaven"
"Violet Seizures"
"Desolation’s Harp"
"Endless Grey"
"Gardens In The Dark"
"The Children The Bombs Overlooked"
"Concrete Cliffs"
"Forest Service Road Blues"


"New Heaven":





Inter Arma is:


T.J. Childers - Drums, Percussion, guitars, lap steel, piano, noise
Trey Dalton - Guitar, synthesizers, mellotron, vocals
Joel Moore - Bass, synthesizers, tape loops, samples, and noise
Mike Paparo - Vocals
Steven Russell - Guitars


(Photo - Jonah Livingston)

Wade Black’s Astronomica have released a lyric video for the third single from their upcoming album, The Awakening. Watch the clip for "Sirens" below.


The band comments on the song: "'Sirens' is dedicated to a very good friend of ours, Tony Reyes. He was a beautiful soul that was unfortunately taken away too soon. The loss of life is such a tragic thing we all go through, especially when it is close to you. This song will be felt whole heartedly by those who have had to personally experience such a tragedy. This song is devoted to all that have been lost but never forgotten."”







For three decades, Wade Black has triumphed and stayed metal recording and touring internationally in bands such as Crimson Glory, Leatherwolf, Seven Witches, Leash Law, and Chalice of Sin. Neither a stranger to change nor afraid of being a catalyst for it, Wade is announcing both changes and some very enticing teasers of things to come in 2024.


Born out of over a decade of writing, recording and touring together: After working closely for over a decade, Wade and guitarist Rich Marks have developed a song writing style that is out of this world and the reason, they chose the name Astronomica. They believe it’s the best way to describe their sound.


Looking to the Future: They are looking forward to bringing music that captures the heart, mind and imagination of their fans, taking them on a journey to far off places and inspiring them to be their best!


The Awakening will be released on March 8th as Digipack CD, Curacao transparent vinyl limited to 300 copies worldwide, and digital streaming/download format. Pre-order here, pre-save here.





Tracklist:


"Deceiver"
"Protectors of the Realm"
"Destiny"
"Monsters"
"Hellwalker"
"Darkness Falls"
"Fate or Faith"
"Chasing After"
"Letter From Hell"
"Sirens"


"Destiny" video:





"Darkness Falls" video:





Lineup:


Wade Black - Vocals
Rich Marks - Guitars, Bass and Additional Keyboards
Patrick Johansson - Drums
James Fox - Rhythm Guitars, Additional Guitars and Keyboards


Touring lineup:


Wade Black - Vocals
Rich Marks - Lead Guitars
Ryan Bales - Rhythm Guitars
Kyle Sokol - Bass
Luca Caracciolo - Drums

Mercury is being lined up to Break Free again on stage — as a hologram, reports The Sun. The company, which manages his back catalogue, has filed a trademark for his name in 3D and virtual reality.


The move means the Queen frontman, who died 33 years ago, could be digitally recreated to perform on stage, like the ABBA Voyage residency in East London. Legal papers show the name has been reserved for “immersive 3D virtual, augmented, and mixed reality experiences” and for “virtual environments”.


The trademark for Mercury Songs Limited also covers video games. Freddie died in London in 1991, aged 45.




Read the full report at TheSun.co.uk.


In other Queen related news, Wymer Publishing has announced the May 24 release of Martin Popoff's new book, Queen Live!





Description: Tens of millions of Queen fans around the world never got to see the classic lineup live, due to the tragic illness and death of rocks greatest frontman, Freddie Mercury, who left us 24th November 1991 at the age of 45. To help assuage that absence and loss, Martin Popoff, author of Queen: Album By Album, has assembled Queen Live! to document the bands all too brief and precious touring history. Throughout the course of the resulting action-packed symphony of live photography and memorabilia, every known gig is touched down upon, with myriad bits of trivia among the way, including wrinkles in the set list, on-stage mishaps, wardrobe quirks, day-of-show and after-show hijinks and, most amusingly, what goofy things Freddie might have said to the crowd on any given night.

 

There's a three-stage narrative flow as well, with chapters emerging that frame the band pre-debut, 1970 to 1973, and then as a regular working band ”mere mortals even” playing venues and package gigs just like everybody else, working hard through the late seventies. As we roll into the 1980s, the itinerary gets lighter and each show becomes more special, with the band finally bowing out on 9th August 1986 with a massive multi-band bash at Knebworth Park. If you were at one or more of these shows, Queen Live! will serve as the ultimate tour program-type memento of those magic days.


And if you weren't, this book goes a long way toward putting you in that hallowed space, watching what one of the most talented bands in the world could deliver night after night, year after year until the bitter end, fully five years before Freddie's death finally closed the book on this most eminent of British institutions.


Pre-order now and get your name in the book on a dedicated fan page.

IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson, who is also a licensed commercial pilot, was asked during a new interview with Janne Innanfors of the Swedish radio station Rockklassiker if he had any advice for people who have a fear of flying. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Loads of people are nervous flyers — for perfectly valid reasons, 'cause if you're a nervous flyer, you're a nervous flyer. There's nothing to be ashamed about. It's just that flying is a part of the modern world. So, there are ways of trying to cope with it and deal with it and mitigate it and, in some cases, just eliminate it altogether. It just depends on what it is you're frightened of and how frightened you are and what steps you take to treat it, as it were. And mostly it's about just experience and education.

"There are lots of really great courses, fear-of-flying courses, that are run often by airlines," he continued. "British Airways do a very good one, which involves going into simulators and going into a mock-up airplane and having people explain exactly what that noise is, and why they do this, and why they do that, and why you have to raise your window shades, and why you have to clear all the crap away from your feet, and what happens when the oxygen masks drop — all that stuff. 'Cause it's not explained, really. It's just, like, 'Hey, do this, do this, do this.' But people ask, 'Why?' My wife is always, like, 'Why do I have to raise my window blind when we take off and [are] landing?' And I said, 'Because if there was a problem and the airplane was on fire, how would you know which side not to get out of if you can't see out through the window? 'So you could jump into a burning engine out of the emergency chute if you can't see what's outside; you can't see a hazard or anything else like that. So it's just common sense stuff that you don't think through. And that sounds really gruesome, but the point is that all of these things have come about because there have been accidents where hundreds of deaths could have been prevented by very simple precautions that have just ended up being part of the safety demo."

Dickinson added: "There was a terrible accident recently where a 787 landed on top of a — it was a Coast Guard airplane, I believe. I think it was — I'm gonna say it was Japan [or] it was Korea. But anyway, it was in the Far East. And, it was a 787 [that] landed on top of it. It shouldn't have been on the runway, but it was. And the airplane basically just burnt to the ground. Everybody survived that crash and got out, which is a testament to great training, no panic, and great, great crew training. So, there's some great stories of when it all goes right. And let's face it: air travel is still incredibly safe — way safer than getting in your motor car."

The fear of flying — otherwise known as aerophobia or aviophobia — reportedly affects 2.5 percent of the population by some estimates, while general anxiety about flying is far more common.

The National Safety Council puts the odds of dying in a motor vehicle accident at one in 93 based on recorded deaths, whereas there was not enough data to even calculate the odds of dying in a plane crash.

An avid aviator, Dickinson worked as a pilot for the now-defunct Icelandic airline Astraeus.

Bruce told Wales Online in an interview that he still gets a thrill out of flying, but that it's a totally different sensation to playing live.

"The satisfaction flying airplanes is getting the job done, but the satisfaction with playing live is external, looking out at all the people looking at you," he said. "With an airliner, it's all internal. If you've got passengers, nobody goes, 'Wow! Wasn't that great?' They're thinking about the rest of their day. Your job as an airline pilot is to deliver them safely and be invisible. That's quite nice for me because it's completely the opposite to what I do when I sing."

Dickinson flew his band around the world in their plane dubbed Ed Force One, named after IRON MAIDEN's iconic mascot Eddie.

He gained a commercial pilot's license after learning to fly in the 1990s. In 2012 he set up Cardiff Aviation, an aircraft maintenance company.

Back in March 2019, Bruce was asked during a question-and-answer session in Utrecht, Netherlands what happens with a plane if all the engines stop working in mid-air. He responded: "Well… It depends. Do you want to know what happens if they continue to stop working? Because then I can tell you… That's the nice thing. When all the engines stop, then you realize that there are only two or three options. One of [the engines] is going to restart, or not. And if the answer is 'not,' then the next question is, 'Where are you going to land?' 'Cause that bit is a certainty. So, generally, if you have multiple engine failures on a two-engine airplane, the odds of it happening are near impossibility. But it has happened, and surprisingly, quite often, the outcome is pretty good, because as long as you control the airplane and you can land it somewhere sensible, then the outcome is pretty good. But the good news is that the chances of not restarting an engine, in the unlikely event of both of them failing, is very, very small as well. So, really, it's an almost-impossible event. It's so impossible that on the one or two occasions when it's happened, then it's been so well publicized, 'cause it's such an incredible story. The good thing is on the occasions that it has happened, most people who tell the story are people who walked away from the airplane that had that incident happen. In other words, they got a good outcome out of it. So, you're way, way, way better off sitting in an airliner than you are driving around in traffic — trust me. You're much safer, in my opinion."

In a new video uploaded to his Zetro's Toxic Vault YouTube channel, EXODUS frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza offered an update on the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to 2021's "Persona Non Grata" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We're writing new EXODUS right now and I think we were originally supposed to be in the studio… We were gonna be in March 1st, but we can't just rush this stuff. It has to happen. So I think it's more like in the mid-May that it's going to happen now."

He continued: "We're going down and doing five shows in South America. We're doing Summer Breeze [festival] in Brazil, and there's some stuff in Chile and in Ecuador and in — a couple more things in Brazil that we're doing that will be kinda like right before we go in to do that. And then I believe Europe is the last week of July — around the 26th or the 27th of July to August 18th — so I don't think it will be much stuff in there that's going to collude that. But that's where we are at right now with EXODUS anyway."

As for the musical direction of the new EXODUS material, Zetro said: "I haven't heard anything that they're writing. It usually starts with Tom [Hunting, drums] and Gary [Holt, guitar]. So, it'll be music and then drums. And then when they have kind of stuff pasted together, then I'll hear bits and pieces of it. It kind of rolls like that, but within three or four weeks' time, what sounds like just riffs put together actually turn into full songs, with lyrics and everything. 'Persona Non Grata' went that way, for sure. And in the past we had done it like that. So that's what's actually happening as far as EXODUS is concerned right now."

Souza went on to say that Napalm Records, with whom EXODUS signed a new record deal last year, was anxious to start working with the band on promoting the upcoming LP.

"It's been 20 years or even more than we were on Nuclear Blast," Zetro said. "I mean, the first record on Nuclear Blast was 'Tempo Of The Damned', and so [it was] in 2003, 2002, I think, when we actually signed to them. And then everything that [former EXODUS singer] Rob Dukes did with them was on there. And then when I came back, [we did] 'Blood In Blood Out' and 'Persona' [with Nuclear Blast].

"[Napalm] seem very excited, and that's always a good thing," he continued. "We had such a great relationship with Nuclear Blast and they were really good to us. I think sometimes change is good and a breath of fresh air comes. And I think that we were due for that. So, it's worked out good. We've got, obviously, Napalm, their deal for us was really, really good and it's a three-album deal, so there's at least three more EXODUS records on the books there. So we just have number one that will start this year at some point."

EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson sat out the last four dates of the band's recent U.S. tour due to "a family emergency". Filling in for him at all the shows was Mike Schleibaum of support act DARKEST HOUR.

"Persona Non Grata" was recorded at a studio in Lake Almanor, California and was engineered by Steve Lagudi and EXODUS. It was produced by EXODUS and was mixed by Andy Sneap. For the third time in the band's history, they returned to Swedish artist Pär Olofsson to create the album artwork.

"Persona Non Grata" was the follow-up to 2014's "Blood In Blood Out", which was the San Francisco Bay Area thrashers' first release since the departure of the group's lead singer of nine years, Dukes, and the return of Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

Trivium frontman Matt Heafy has shared  a guitar playthrough video for  "The Defiant", which can be viewed below. The song is taken from Trivium's ninth album, What The Dead Men Say, released in 2020.





Bullet For My Valentine recently checked in with the following update:




"We are thrilled to announce that in 2025 we present to you The Poisoned Ascendancy UK Tour, alongside our brothers in Trivium. Both bands will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut albums by playing them in full. Get excited people, it's gonna be special and we can't wait to celebrate with you all."


Trivium, meanwhile, have posted the following message:


"Bullet for My Valentine’s The Poison and Trivium’s Ascendancy are two records whose influence can be heard to this day - in the DNA of modern metal. It’s incredible to think of the impact the albums had when they came out in 2005. They were both like bolts of lightning. Both bands grew up independently of each other in different countries and separately from any movement or scene but both shared a common love of melodic heavy metal at the core; and both had similar meteoric rises right out of the gate. Trivium and BFMV were in such whirlwinds when our respective albums came out that we each never truly got to play together or sit back and celebrate during the maelstrom of constant touring, recording and globetrotting. But that’s what this anniversary tour is. It’s a celebration by the bands to the fans of an important era, and most importantly it’s an invitation to fans come and have an epic night with us and sing and rage and celebrate the awesome power of the music. Tickets on-sale next Friday, March 1."

Death Scythe has released their latest single / video, "Ek Balam", an epic blend of melodic death metal and ancient Mayan lore. This release will captivate listeners with its intense musical journey into the heart of Mayan civilization.


The band elaborates on the legends that inspired the single: "'Ek Balam, ,a musical tribute to the Mayan deity, unveils the mystical aura of a cosmic jaguar. Amidst the celestial canvas, Ek Balam emerges as the guardian of the night, the keeper of time, and the protector of the skies. With fiery eyes and a cosmic essence, Ek Balam symbolizes the seamless connection between the earthly and celestial realms. The lyrics narrate the legend of this divine jaguar, a powerful and enigmatic entity gracefully dancing among the stars, resonating with an ethereal melody in the expansive tapestry of the night."







Recorded with precision and passion, "Ek Balam" stands as a testament to Death Scythe's musical evolution and their commitment to exploring the connections between history and heavy metal. The artwork accompanying the single draws heavily on Mayan iconography, featuring symbols and deities that evoke the ancient world's complexity and mystique. 





For further details, visit Death Scythe on Facebook.


 


 

In a new interview with Ghost Cult 's Keefy, Max Cavalera, who is current touring with his GO AHEAD AND DIE project, spoke about his plans for the follow-up to SOULFLY's 2022 album "Totem". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm starting to get the ideas formed for SOULFLY. It's new in terms of riffs.

"I find it hard to write on the road, so I don't do a whole lot of that," he explained. "I kind of like to be home and be on my writing mindset. And then I delve entirely [into] that. So on tour right now, this is GO AHEAD AND DIE hands on deck. [Laughs] It's all GO AHEAD AND DIE stuff right now… But, yeah, eventually at some point I will start working on the new SOULFLY. It's probably not gonna come out till next year, if I'm being realistic… But SOULFLY's doing some cool stuff. We are actually playing [Welcome To] Rockville, and there's another festival in Ohio. And we're doing the LAMB OF GOD boat, Headbangers Boat. Those all should be pretty fun. And we're doing some festivals in Europe as well. But I'm one thing at a time. So right now it's all GO AHEAD AND DIE."

In addition to Max, GO AHEAD AND DIE features his son, singer, guitar and bass player Igor Amadeus Cavalera.

GO AHEAD AND DIE's "Unhealthy Mechanisms Tour 2024" kicked off on January 19 in Tucson and will conclude on March 24 in Jerome, Arizona.

GO AHEAD AND DIE is touring in support of its sophomore album, "Unhealthy Mechanisms", which was released in October 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records.

SOULFLY's twelfth album, "Totem", came out in August 2022 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2018's "Ritual" was recorded at Platinum Underground in Mesa, Arizona by John Aquilino and Arthur Rizk with assistance from John Powers. Produced by Max Cavalera alongside Arthur Rizk (KREATOR, MUNICIPAL WASTE, CODE ORANGE),the LP boasts guest appearances from John Powers (ETERNAL CHAMPION),Chris Ulsh (POWER TRIP),and John Tardy (OBITUARY). Rizk was also responsible for playing lead guitar on the record. The artwork for the album was created by James Bousema.

SOULFLY's current lead guitarist is Mike DeLeon, who joined the band in early 2023. Prior to hooking up with SOULFLY, DeLeon had been a member of PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo's solo band PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS, which he joined in 2015 as the replacement for Marzi Montazeri. More recently, Mike filled in for Zakk Wylde at the first rehearsal for the fall 2022 PANTERA shows.

In August 2021, SOULFLY parted ways with longtime guitarist Marc Rizzo due to personal differences. FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares played guitar for SOULFLY on the band's 2021 and 2022 run of shows.

Photo credit: Jim Louvau

International melodic death metal project Act Of Denial recently released  a new mesmerizing tune, "Unbury The Hatchet". They have now released an official lyric video for the track, which can be viewed below.





Guitarist Luger comments: ""We are extremely happy that we have a new song out after almost 3 years together with a new lyric video. Once again video is done by our buddy Wanderley Perna, who did also our first lyric video for 'Your Dark Desires' from debut album and he did amazing job as always. Thx bro!!




We are also satisfied that we are recording again since it is very difficult for us at this point. People we are working with, are very busy already with their own bands and it is hard to find any time for some side projects. First album was made during Covid time when everyone was stuck at home, so they had time, now is completely different situation but somehow we're still managing.


Also, thanks every AOD fans and supporters for making this happen. What everyone is wondering and asking us lately, will there be a new album from AOD soon? Unfortunately I can't confirm anything about that topic, as already said, some of the guys already started their tours or they will start it soon, but I can give a hint about a new song that is in the works with some cool guests, and not only 1 but a few, but we will leave that aside for now.


We will be updating all on our socials when time comes. Stay tuned,healthy and beautiful. As always, rock on!"


"Unbury The Hatchet" line-up:


Voi Cox (Koziak, Victim) - lead guitar, programming
Luger (Koziak, Benighted-Cro) - rhythm guitar
Bjorn Speed Strid (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra) - vocals, backing vocals
Steve Di Giorgio (Testament) - fretless bass
Eugene Ryabchenko (Fleshgod Apocalypse) - drums
John Lönnmyr (The Night Flight Orchestra) - keyboards

Kansas have announced that original drummer and band manager, Phil Ehart, "is taking time away from touring as drummer for Kansas while he recovers after recently surviving a major heart attack. There is no timetable for his return to the road.


"While not on the road, Phil is remaining in a prominent role with Kansas during his recovery, serving as band manager, as he has done for 40 years.


"Eric Holmquist will be on drums for Kansas starting with the March 1, 2024, concert in Richmond, VA. Holmquist has filled in for Ehart on drums when Phil was ill in 2016, during Phil’s arm rehabilitation in 2022-2023, and has been performing the first half of shows during the Kansas 50th Anniversary Tour. Previously, Eric was Phil’s drum tech and protegé for more than 20 years.




"Kansas 50th Anniversary Tour – Another Fork in The Road continues March 1, 2024, in Richmond, VA. A complete list of tour dates can be found at kansasband.com.


"The band Kansas carries on, adding more tour dates in 2024 and beyond."





(Photo - Emily Butler Photography)

Legendary German/American heavy metal titans ACCEPT have shared the official music video for "Humanoid", the title track of their upcoming album. The hard-hitting first single features razor-sharp riffs in true ACCEPT style and comments on our reliance on technology. The dystopian atmosphere of the accompanying official music video complements the track perfectly, depicting a stark contrast between a video wall and the band performing live in front of it.

ACCEPT's Wolf Hoffmann states about "Humanoid": "The song plays with the omnipresent topic of artificial intelligence (AI). In a strange way, we have entered exciting times now… This digital revolution has a huge impact, probably bigger than anything humankind has ever gone through. The Industrial Revolution was huge, but this might be even bigger, and we're just at the beginning of it. However, I'm also a little afraid that humanity gets lost and pushed aside in all this stuff. The song is pretty impactful and provoking!”

Due on April 26, 2024 via Napalm Records, "Humanoid" was once again produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by critically acclaimed heavy metal producer Andy Sneap.

Fans can immerse themselves in the upcoming album on a newly launched interactive web site, where they can reprogram the robot that is featured on the album cover, and discover different parts of the album in the process. Pre-save "Humanoid" now to gain access to the web site here.

Together with the album announcement, ACCEPT has also revealed a massive European headline tour with more than 20 shows across the continent for autumn 2024. This summer, ACCEPT will also return to some of the world’s most important rock and metal festivals, like Wacken Open Air, Hellfest and more, following their South American spring tour.

Hoffmann comments: "I am extremely pleased with 'Humanoid'. The album has great energy throughout! Working with the best metal producer Andy Sneap was once again a lot of fun! We are a great team. We all love the new album and look forward to playing it live! Hope our fans will like it as much as we do.”

ACCEPT is:

Wolf Hoffmann - guitar
Mark Tornillo - vocals
Uwe Lulis - guitar
Martin Motnik - bass
Christopher Williams - drums

This past January, it was announced that ACCEPT will perform at all European festivals in 2024 and the South American tour in May with Joel Hoekstra.

Hoekstra will be standing in for Phil Shouse, who will remain with the band as their permanent live guitarist for all other gigs.

New York-based Joel Hoekstra is best known to fans as a current member of the legendary band WHITESNAKE and is part of TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA. He has also played with Cher, NIGHT RANGER and FOREIGNER, to name just a few of his numerous collaborations.

Hoffmann commented: "It is a great honor for us to be on stage with Joel Hoekstra. Joel is an exceptional guitarist and I have huge respect for him. The whole band is really looking forward to playing with this string magician."

Hoekstra added: "I'm super honored and excited to riff out and rock out with Wolf and the guys! I'm really looking forward to meeting all the ACCEPT fans in South America and Europe! Let's rock!!"

Last June, Wolf said in an interview with Cassius Morris about the progress of the recording sessions for the follow-up to 2021's "Too Mean To Die" album: "Well, we have this place in Nashville that we have made the last five albums in. And we basically do drums at a place — it's not quite sure where we're gonna do it this time. And then guitars are usually happening here in Nashville and mixing happens in England. Nowadays, with technology, we don't really need to be together in the same place for four weeks at a time; we do it here and there and everywhere. But it's still important to know that we're doing it kind of together; we're not just sharing files over the Internet. 'Cause that has never worked for us. So, in other words, Andy has to be in the room, if possible, and then whoever gets to record their tracks, and then a bunch of others are usually around. So it's a group thing, for sure, but it's not [like] everybody's there the whole, all the time together."

In the fall of 2022, ACCEPT completed a North American tour with support from NARCOTIC WASTELAND. The band played a career-spanning set of new and classic tracks, including mega-hits "Balls To The Wall", "Princess Of The Dawn", "Fast As A Shark" and many more.

In February 2022, it was announced that ACCEPT had inked a worldwide deal with Napalm Records.

"Too Mean To Die" came out in January 2021 via Nuclear Blast. The LP was the group's first without bassist Peter Baltes, who exited ACCEPT in November 2018. He has since been replaced by Martin Motnik. ACCEPT's lineup has also been expanded with the addition of a third guitarist, the aforementioned Philip Shouse, who originally filled in for Uwe Lulis during 2019's "Symphonic Terror" tour, before being asked to join the band permanently.

"Too Mean To Die" was recorded in Nashville with Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH),who has been responsible for the studio sound of ACCEPT since 2010.

Mark Tornillo joined ACCEPT in 2009 as the replacement for the band's original lead singer, Udo Dirkscheider. He can be heard on ACCEPT's last five studio albums, "Blood Of The Nations" (2010),"Stalingrad" (2012),"Blind Rage" (2014),"The Rise Of Chaos" (2017) and "Too Mean To Die".

Photo credit: Christoph Vohler

UK heavyweights, Shrapnel, have announced their forthcoming album, In Gravity, will be released via Candlelight Records on May 31. To celebrate, the band has released a new single and video, "Amber Screams". It's a powerful track that looks at the harrowing issue of being stuck in a cycle of substance abuse.


The band comments on the new single: "'Amber Screams' delves into the harmful cycle of substance abuse and the search for greater highs becoming the escape from the plummeting normalcy of addiction.


"This is simply the most bludgeoning and heavy we've ever sounded. It's a pretty sombre and introspective song, drawing on our love of bands like Alice In Chains, Deftones, and Gojira, and turning this into something new. We really wanted to lean into our post-metal side and ended up writing what is possibly our favourite song on the new album. We really wanted to translate a feeling of despondency and a sense of teetering on the edge of the abyss."







In Gravity is the sound of rebirth and marks the launch of a new chapter for Shrapnel. Drawing on their ever-deepening well of experience and influence, In Gravity sees a band at the height of their song-writing prowess. Whether dealing in extremity and complexity, Gojira-inspired bludgeoning heaviness, or a newly emerging sense of modern melodic maturity, Shrapnel is able to weave its sonic palette in new, genre-defying directions.


Guitarist Chris Martin comments: "We've channeled every bit of suffering, devastation, and emotion that we've experienced in recent years. We've never been so confident about our own material."


Helmed by Swedish super producer Jens Bogren (Sepultura, Opeth, Amon Amarth, Ihsahn) and featuring collaborations with Scott Kennedy (Bleed From Within) and modern shred virtuoso Bradley Hall, In Gravity sees Shrapnel breaking out of their shackles where others have failed, and staking their claim to the British metal throne.


Continuing, Chris adds: "As an album, In Gravity really has a focus on how we all deal with problems of varying extremities. We wanted to take a look at how some of the solutions to our problems become problems in themselves, be that addiction or anything else.


"It's an album about how difficult it can be to face those problems many of us share. It was written during tragedy, and we're rolling it out during some difficult times for us. While we don't have the answers, we also realize that the way we deal with issues is to create art, which in itself is a healer. We've really been holding the mirror up and exercising some demons on this one. It's led to the best album we've ever written, and something we hope will connect other people far more deeply than anything we've released previously."


Pre-order In Gravity here.





Tracklisting:


"In Gravity"
"Amber Screams"
"Guardian"
"Breaker"
"Judgement"
"Dark Age"
"Follow The Cold"
"As Above…"
"…So Below"
"Absolution"


"In Gravity" video:





Formed in 2009, Shrapnel has been on a campaign of destruction ever since. Having previously supported bands such as Exodus, Sepultura, Death Angel, Suicidal Tendencies, Wolf, Gama Bomb and appeared three times at Bloodstock Festival. Later this year the band is set to perform at Barbeuk Metal Festival in France. From the blistering underground EP No Saviours through to their critically acclaimed 2020 release, Palace For The Insane, the band has grown from strength to strength with no intention of slowing down. More live dates to follow, watch this space.


(Photo - Andy Ford)

For their ninth release as a duo, Gravelle-Perinbam raised their performances to a whole new level, taking on Canadian prog rock icons Rush's 1985 masterpiece about the WWII project that created the first atomic bomb, "Manhattan Project". An official video for the song can now be viewed below.





This choice fits in perfectly with the duo's style, which incorporates rock, progressive music and classic metal. Rob Gravelle made his bass debut and took care of all guitars and keyboards. John Perinbam plays drums and performs all of the vocals. It follows the original, "Beyond The Cage Of Silence", which was launched this past January.




Listen to "Manhattan Project" via here, and below:


Credits:


John Perinbam: vocals, drums
Rob Gravelle: guitars, bass, keys


- Mastered by Roland Marckwort of Violentene
- Artwork by Marc Gravelle





About Gravelle-Perinbam:


Gravelle-Perinbam is a Canadian recording duo whose musical style embraces elements of rock, progressive, and metal. The duo is based in Ottawa and is comprised of producer / guitarist Rob Gravelle and producer / vocalist / multi-instrumentalist John Perinbam.


Gravelle and Perinbam also recorded the Knightfall CD with Annihilator’s Jeff Waters in 2009 and have released several albums with their band Ivory Knight.


The prodigious vocal and instrumental talents of the duo have helped their songs and videos garner tens of thousands of streams, downloads and views.


In recent years, Gravelle-Perinbam songs have been popping up on various music charts around the globe, including Viberate's YouTube Video Views in Metal in Canada and Soundcloud Plays in Metal in Canada, as well as Spotify's 360 Best of Indie Music Playlist.

Last week Clutch announce that they will release Transnational Speedway League: Anthems, Anecdotes And Undeniable Truths as part of their renowned, vinyl-only Clutch Collector's Series on March 29.


Today, the band share a "blast from the past", posting their first ever music video for the album track, "A Shogun Named Marcus". Watch the clip below:







Originally released in 1993, Transnational Speedway League was the very first recording from Clutch and has never been released before on vinyl.





This remastered edition is now available exclusively as a gatefold 12" LP, including a band-signed insert. The vinyl is a stunning 180-gram translucent emerald green, housed in robust, extra-heavy sleeves. Sticklers for high quality detail, even the gatefold jacket is printed on luxe, metalized, polyester paper. This numbered, limited edition is restricted to just 7,500 units worldwide.


Clutch’s fret wizard, Tim Sult, masterminded this release from A to Z, even working with the album's original graphic designer Dan Winters on a redesign for this release.


"Listening to the album again and going through Dan Winter's treasure trove of old photos was a real trip down memory lane," recollects Sult warmly. "I decided to only include photos that were taken in 1993 during the original Transnational Speedway League photo shoot, including elements of the original artwork."





For another for a blast from the past, check out the "A Shogun Named Marcus" live video below from a 1994 Clutch show in Dallas, Texas, featuring Sepultura's Max Cavelera and Andreas Kisser.


It is no understatement that Clutch fans around the world will be extremely keen to get their hands on one of these very special albums, so don't delay if you want to snap one up. Pre-order here.





Tracklisting:


"A Shogun Named Marcus"
"El Jefe Speaks"
"Binge And Purge"
"12 Ounce Epilogue"
"Bacchanal"
"Milk Of Human Kindness"
"Rats"
"Earthworm"
"Heirloom 13"
"Walking In The Great Shining Path Of Monster Trucks"
"Effigy"





Clutch recently announced their upcoming New World Samurai Tour 2024, with support from Blacktop Mojo and The Native Howl. The trek kicks off on April 26 in Richmond, VA, and concludes on May 19 in Columbus, OH.


Dates and a video trailer can be found below.





April
26 - Richmond, VA - The National
27 - Wilmington, DE - The Queen
29 - Bloomington, IL - The Castle Theatre


May
1 - Colorado Springs, CO - Black Sheep
2 - Estes Park, CO - Stanley Hotel
3 - Estes Park, CO - Stanley Hotel
4 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up Aspen
5 - Grand Junction, CO - Mesa Theater
7 - Lubbock, TX - The Garden
9 - Pelham, TN - The Caverns
10 - Columbia, SC - The Senate
11 - Daytona, FL - Welcome To Rockville
12 - Pensacola, FL - Vinyl Music Hall
14 - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
15 - Fayetteville, AR - JJ's Live
17 - Sioux City, IA - Anthem at Hard Rock
18 - Belvidere - IL - The Apollo Theatre
19 - Columbus, OH - Sonic Temple





Clutch lineup:


Neil Fallon - Vocals
Tim Sult - Guitar
Dan Maines - Bass
Jean-Paul Gaster - Drums

German symphonic metal band, Xandria, performed at Masters Of Rock 2023, and have shared the video below, stating: "It was amazing to play our new songs for you in our live shows in 2023, thank you all very much for your energy and support, and all that overwhelmingly positive feedback that we got!"





"Reborn" is featured on Xandria's latest and most successful album to date, The Wonders Still Awaiting, which peaked at #9 on the official German album charts.




Order The Wonders Still Awaiting here.





The Wonders Still Awaiting tracklisting:


"Two Worlds"
"Reborn"
"You Will Never Be Our God" (feat. Ralf Scheepers)
"The Wonders Still Awaiting"
"Ghosts"
"Your Stories I'll Remember"
"My Curse Is My Redemption"
"Illusion Is Their Name"
"Paradise"
"Mirror Of Time"
"Scars"
"The Maiden And The Child"
"Astèria"


“Your Stories I’ll Remember” video:





“My Curse Is My Redemption (Summer 80's Remix)” video:





“My Curse Is My Redemption” lyric video:





“Two Worlds” video:





"The Wonders Still Awaiting" video:





"Ghosts" video:





"You Will Never Be Our God" video:





"Reborn" video:





Xandria lineup:


Ambre Vourvahis - Vocals
Marco Heubaum - Guitar
Robert Klawonn - Guitar
Tim Schwarz - Bass
Dimitrios Gatsios - Drums